Review: The Written graphic novel by Ben Galley

Title: The Written graphic novel (Eameneska #1)
Author: Ben Galley
Illustrator: Mike Shipley
Publisher: Bengalley.com
Release date: 3rd Nov 2014

Synopsis: His name is Farden. They whisper that he's dangerous. Dangerous is only the half of it.

Something has gone missing from the libraries of Arfell. Something very old and very powerful.

Five scholars are now dead, a country is once again on the brink of war and the magick council is running out of time and options.

Entangled in a web of lies and politics and dragged halfway across icy Emaneska and back, Farden must unearth a secret even if he doesn't want to know, a secret that will shake the foundations of his world.

Review: I loved this book, and it's one of the series I encourage people to read. However I've never really read many graphic novels. It a form that I've wanted to get into for a while, and do I thought what better place to start than on some common ground.

Interestingly this is more a labour of love than many graphic novels out there in that the author felt so strongly about its potential to transition into this format he went and Kickstartered it himself...and voila!

The story is still there just as I remember, only stripped back so we're left with the core elements of the story. Like I said I've not read many graphic novels, so the form was interesting to read, built around the art, which sometimes made it difficult to follow, bit not so much that I was completely confused and I picked up the flow as I went along.

My favourite line was "Wait something is happening " though that probably means something to me.

There was this really fluidness to the art, both in its style (feeling a lot like water colour that would dissolve at any time) and in the way that the images, instead of being static, flowed into each other in a really creative way. It was a little jarring sometimes as you had to really look into the pictures to get the intense details within because they were so merged together and with such colour...it was little a bit tripy at times. I really liked the full pages not broken up by frames that held so much. I know I also say this a lot but some of the pages were so cool I want them as art on my wall...Mike do you do commissions!? 

I also love how the little tidbits from the beginning of the chapters were included because they were a great part from me and it was great to see how they were still incorporated into the book.

This was an enjoyable forage into the world of graphic novels, and a great tease to Bloodmoon out on Friday!...I hope the rest of the series can get treatment. If anyone has any suggestions of where to go next I'm all ears. I'm thinking sandman?